Frequently asked questions

We are growing this list as questions come in. Have a question not on this
list? Send it to us!

Q: How complicated is it to get UBOSbox Nextcloud running?

A: It depends on whether you get it as a kit or pre-assembled:

The NUC-based models are very
simple to set up. The basic steps are: unpack what we ship to you, plug UBOSbox
in with Ethernet and power, insert the provided UBOS Staff, turn on UBOSbox, wait
a bit, move the UBOS Staff to your PC or Mac, double-click a file on it and
follow the links.

Setup of the Raspberry Pi-based kit
is the same as for the models based on NUC, but you first have to put the kit
together. That requires a screw driver and a little bit of time, but isn't very
hard either. If you can assemble a Lego kit, we are confident that you can assemble
UBOSbox Nextcloud on Raspberry Pi.
Here is a video of the
assembly process.

A: How much programming knowledge do I need to have to successfully use
UBOSbox Nextcloud?

A: That's easy to answer: none. The Nextcloud project
did all the application programming, and we did all that programming needed to
make administration simpler. You need to do none.

Q: Other than ordering a UBOSbox Nextcloud from the Indie Computing website, what
other hardware do I need?

A: You need a PC or Mac with a USB port, so you can insert the UBOS Staff and
get the unique administration password from it that is generated specifically
for your UBOSbox.

You also need a wired internet connection (Ethernet) and power. We ship several
power plugs so your UBOSbox can work in most locations, world-wide.

Q: I'd like a different hardware configuration that you currently offer.
Can you help me?

A: Please fill out our survey
and tell us what you are looking for. If there are enough requests for a particular
hardware configuration, we may consider offering it.

Of course, you can always install UBOS and Nextcloud yourself on a wide variety
of hardware configurations. This is more work than buying a pre-configured
UBOSbox, and requires somewhat (although not terribly much) more skill. Head
over to ubos.net/quickstart and
follow the documentation there.

Q: If I buy a UBOSbox without the UBOS Live management service,
how much technical knowledge do I need to be successful maintaining the UBOSbox
myself?

A: This is a good question, but hard to answer without knowing your
background in detail! But perhaps this gives you
a taste: to administer your UBOSbox, you almost certainly will have to log
into the box over the network with ssh. How to do that is documented
in the section on the UBOS Staff on
ubos.net. You should be very comfortable
following these instructions, or instructions like them.

You certainly will need to have basic Linux system administration skills,
such as knowing how to determine available disk space, use users and groups,
how to start and stop daemons with systemd, how to read and interpret the
systemd journal, and the like.

Also read through some of the other sections in the
UBOS documentation. If you
understand them without problems, and are confident you can perform these
kinds of operations, chances are you will be able to administer your
UBOSbox yourself.

Q: Can I access Nextcloud from the public internet?

A: This depends on how you connect your UBOSbox to the internet. Here are
some common scenarios:

If you connect UBOSbox directly to the Ethernet jack that comes from
your ISP (without going through a router): likely yes. You should confirm
this with your ISP, however: both the technical aspects ("will it work?")
and whether this conforms with their Terms of Service (because some ISPs
do not permit that, or only on some of their plans).

If you connect UBOSbox to your home local area network behind a router,
without any further setup: likely no. That's because most routers run
firewalls that are configured to not let any traffic come to your home
network that did not originate from your home network.

If you connect UBOSbox to your home local area network behind a router,
and you configure your router to forward a port to your UBOSbox: yes.
In this case, also please confirm with your ISP.

If you run Pagekite on your
UBOSbox according to the instructions
here:
yes. This should not run afoul of any technical or business model
constraint that your ISP imposes, but it does require a separate
subscription with a third party.

Q: If I change internet service providers, will that affect the operation
of my UBOSbox?

A: No. UBOSbox, as shipped, does not directly interact with your internet
service provider, so there is no reason it should behave any differently when
you switch from one to another.

Q: Can I purchase UBOS Live on a monthly basis?

A: Sorry, no. We have to manage a UBOSbox on an ongoing basis, without
interruptions, otherwise it is too expensive for us to analyze the state of a
UBOSbox that was maintained by the customer, and possibly perform a backlog
of administration activities before we can manage it again.